This invention involves shoe taps and more particularly jingling clogging taps which hammer out a lively rhythm when attached to shoe soles during a country dance.
Clogging is a traditional dance that is most popular in the midwest and in the southern states of the United States of America. The steps might be generally classified as square dancing with the clogger, male and female, wearing metal rhythm makers on the toe and on the heel of their shoes. As the clogger goes through the square dancing steps, the dancer strikes the heel and the toe on the dance floor as each step is made, hammering a noisy but quite pleasant rhythm. When the cloggers are with the beat, it is the most impressive dance.
Prior commercial clogging devices use cast aluminum plates, one of which is a movable plate attached to the fixed plate usually by a single loose rivet in the middle. The top of the rivet is flat and is at the same plane as the movable plate. Flanges extend upwardly from the base plate along each side to prevent the movable plate from turning about on the rivet. The movable parts are struck together in a manner similar to castanets whenever they strike the floor, producing a loud metallic jingle sound with each strike. Present commercial clogging device tend to break easily and scar the floor due to the sharp edges that result from a break. Scarring also results from the sharp edges of the flat rivet, even when breakage does not occur. The nails may back out and tear up the floor. In addition, the joint, between the base plate flanges and the movable plate of present commercial clogging devices fill in with floor wax, dirt, or tar and quickly become inoperable to sound the jingle.
The following U.S. patents describe tapping devices that do not satisfy the above needs or attain the objects hereinbelow: U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,138,684 to C. D. Neely, 1,738,177 to J. Esmonde, 1,868,765 to F. D. Reynolds, 1,943,222 to E. Landi, 2,059,952 to E. Landi, 2,105,642 to S. Capezio, 2,168,303 to A. L. Sothen, 4,463,506 to D. F. Isackson, and 4,513,519 to G. Hedrick.